


your song

by vaahtokarkki



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M, rating may go up but not to more than T
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-01-21 13:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12458529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaahtokarkki/pseuds/vaahtokarkki
Summary: A collection of drabbles and shorter fics, most will probably include an oddball or two, might be updated slowly as I write them between longer works. More notes at the beginning of each chapter.1: watashu; stargazing2: kaokana; comfort3: watashu; fitting clothes4: kaokana; dreams5: kaoshu; first date





	1. watashu; stargazing

**Author's Note:**

> I left it to be vague at what time this takes place (because enstars timeline is a mess) but I'm thinking somewhere during their 2nd year?
> 
> anyway please take this self-indulgent and soft thing I wrote to fight my writer's block. watashu

They don’t leave the museum until its closing time draws near, both finding excuses to stay just a little longer. _Let’s go back, there’s a painting I want to see again. Are you absolutely certain we went through that room already? Let’s not hurry, we can sit down for a while, there’s still plenty of time -_

They finally exit, Wataru holding on to Shu’s arm, just in case, just down the stairs, he wore heels today – and neither mentions that Wataru has a perfect balance and holding on to someone would only make him lose it easier.

Outside, it’s become dark, and a few stars have already lit up the sky. Wataru gasps, tugging at Shu’s arm, and Shu’s eyes follow Wataru’s gaze up until he sees them too.

 _Beautiful,_ Wataru sighs, and Shu thinks – no, Wataru’s eyes shine brighter, they light up the whole street, two brilliant jewels etched on his skin. Shu slides his hand down to grab at Wataru’s, and Wataru turns around to beam at him. It’s not that intimate or meaningful, they both tell themselves, they’re wearing gloves after all.

 _Come on, let’s take the long route home,_ Wataru urges, and Shu follows without complaint. The long route seems to include a hill, which Shu doesn’t remember, but then again he’s not entirely sure _whose_ home they’re going towards.

It’s strange, that Wataru is the one to lead, when he only ever leads on stage; and that Shu allows him, when he never lets anyone tell him what to do.

It feels right today, Shu thinks, and if Wataru notices that Shu grips his hand just a bit tighter, he doesn’t show it.

By the time they’re on top of the hill, more stars have come out, and Shu looks up at them and names constellations in his head as they stand still in silence. Shu shivers, not having dressed for the chill of the night, and without delay Wataru lets go of his hand and wraps an arm around his shoulders instead.

 _That doesn’t help much,_ Shu tells him, but his words aren’t as sharp as they’d be if they were in daylight and not so completely alone.

 _I know,_ comes Wataru’s reply, accompanied by that delightful sound that resembles the chiming of bells; the laughter Shu knows is just a bit more genuine than usually. It makes something ache in his chest and he reaches out to take Wataru’s free hand in his. Without thinking further, he brings it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on top of Wataru’s palm.

_Shu._

Wataru’s voice is low and quiet in the night, and Shu drinks in the way Wataru says his name, like it was something sacred, like Shu himself was sacred.

He really isn’t, but he lets himself believe it for just a second, and murmurs Wataru’s name in return, his mouth still on Wataru’s hand.

Wataru spins Shu around until their chests touch, and only when Shu has to tilt his head up to look at Wataru does he remember those pesky heels he decided to wear today. Wataru smiles down at him like he knew all along exactly what he was doing, and Shu wants nothing else than to kiss that grin off his face.

Would kissing Wataru make that ache inside Shu go away or just make it worse? He doesn’t understand it, but he knows he’s nearly overcome by the urge to go closer, just a little -

 _May I?_ Wataru asks before Shu can take action, and Shu huffs in response, having wanted to say those words himself.

 _Don’t waste time,_ is all Wataru needs, and he brings both hands up to cup Shu’s face. Wataru’s gloved fingers are cold, but his breath is warm, and Shu feels his eyes flutter close at the contact.

Wataru kisses Shu under the stars, and for just a while, Shu doesn’t feel cold at all.


	2. kaokana; comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was sitting unfinished in my drafts for at least a month but then kanata's zodiac gacha story happened and. suddenly I felt really inspired to finish this,, enjoy!!

The steady humming of the fish tanks doesn’t quite cover the sound of Kaoru’s own sniffles in his ears. He feels pathetic, coming to the club room to cry when he even skipped the club meeting earlier today, but he couldn’t think of any other place to go that didn’t run the risk of someone walking in. At this hour, even Kanata doesn’t hang around at the club anymore, so Kaoru is safe to drag out the time until he has to go home.

Kaoru draws in a shaky breath and tries to focus his blurry eyes on the fish slowly swimming in the nearest tank. He knows Kanata spends time like this, sitting still and watching the fish, and Kaoru tries to reach the same tranquility Kanata seems to experience whenever he’s here.

Kaoru doesn’t come to the club room as often as he could (as often as he should), but it always reminds him of calm things, which is probably why he drifted here today in his disarrayed state. It reminds him of the sea, of the aquarium his mother used to take him to when he was a child, of Kanata’s soothing smile and voice – he can almost imagine Kanata sitting next to him, not looking at him but the fish while he talks about them, the creatures he so adores.

Kaoru closes his eyes to cease their stinging and leans against the back of the couch. He finds himself wishing he wasn’t alone, yet the thought of someone seeing him like this frightens him to no end.

He doesn’t have to contemplate on it any longer as he hears the door click open. He hastily wipes his eyes at his sleeve even though he knows it won’t help much and it must be obvious he’s been crying, even in the dim lighting of the room.

”Kaoru?” Kanata’s confused voice calls out, causing Kaoru’s heart to sink. ”I did not ’expect’ you here… you did not come to the ’activities’ today.”

”Yeah”, Kaoru laughs, a little too high-pitched to be believable. He doesn’t know what else to say, how to explain why he’s here now.

”Hmm~”, Kanata walks slowly, his eyes darting between the different fish tanks but not even once at Kaoru. ”Did you get ’stood up’ again? Or did you just want to hang out with the ’fish’…? That would make me ’happy’...”

The playfulness in Kanata’s voice hits Kaoru like a blow in the gut, leaving him breathless.

”Something like that”, he winces. Kanata hasn’t noticed anything being wrong, so if Kaoru can just muster up a smile and pretend everything is fine, Kanata doesn’t have to know, and doesn’t have to concern himself with Kaoru’s problems, when he has enough of those on his own -

But when Kanata finally turns to look at him, he immediately frowns. Kaoru freezes and then turns his head away, rubbing at his irritated eyes.

Kanata doesn’t say anything, but Kaoru can hear his soft footsteps approach. The couch dips when weight is added to it, and Kaoru swallows hard, aware that if Kanata has even briefly looked at his face, he’ll know.

”I’m sorry -” Kaoru begins, an apology for Kanata having to see him like this, but he doesn’t even get to finish the sentence.

”Silly Kaoru”, Kanata’s voice is too close, much too close, but before Kaoru can move away or even flinch, there’s a pair of arms around him, and the act shocks him enough that he stops crying.

”Why are you ’apologising’?”

”I...” Kaoru finds himself speechless, uncertain how to proceed in such an unfamiliar situation. In his confusion, he accidentally blurts out the truth. ”Because this kind of look doesn’t suit me, it’s terrible -”

”No”, Kanata interrupts him again, and Kaoru feels him sigh rather than hears it. ”Kaoru could ’never’ look ’terrible’.”

”What?” Kaoru blinks.

”I am ’comforting’ you”, Kanata says in a matter-of-fact tone, and it should maybe make the comforting itself less effective, but somehow, it does the opposite.

Kaoru starts crying again, tears preceded by a deep shudder that rakes through his entire body and causes Kanata to tense up.

”Is it not ’good’…?” his voice is small, and Kaoru shakes his head, too choked up to reply immediately.

”It’s good”, he finally manages, and Kanata relaxes.

Kaoru’s first instinct was probably to run, but the moment for that has passed, and now he finds himself leaning into Kanata’s touch, realising just how starved he is for gentle hands. And Kanata’s hands _are_ gentle, so much that Kaoru allows himself to think… maybe it’s okay to stay here for a while.

He relaxes into Kanata’s hold, adjusting himself so his shoulder doesn’t press against Kanata’s chest anymore, and Kanata takes the chance to pull him closer, all the way to his lap. Kaoru doesn’t protest, and briefly wonders why – something must have changed within him lately, because he’s certain he wouldn’t have been this compliant just a month ago.

His tears are only beginning to dry out, but Kaoru quickly grows sleepy in Kanata’s soothing presence, in his warm embrace. His eyes flutter closed as his head lolls back against Kanata’s shoulder, and Kanata begins to hum, a slow, calming tune that further increases Kaoru’s drowsiness. 

”Have ’sweet dreams’, Kaoru”, Kanata’s breath tickles his cheek, and the words are the last thing he registers before falling asleep.


	3. watashu; fitting clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm crawling out from my writing hiatus just for a while to publish this one short thing because I had it pretty much finished before I started the hiatus. this was suggested by an anon on twitter. enjoy!!

Shu looks displeased the instant Wataru walks into his clubroom.

“Now, now, is that the face to wear when greeting an old friend?” Wataru chuckles as he closes the door behind him.

“Your hair is down”, Shu simply remarks. “How many times must we go over this? I can’t put clothes on you with all _that_ ”, he makes a vague handwave, “in the way.”

“Must have slipped my mind”, Wataru touches his own hair. “As it so happens, I don’t have a single hairband with me…”

“You are _impossible_ ”, Shu huffs. “Come here, then, I’ll do your hair for you.”

Wataru hops over to Shu with a grin that only widens when he sees Shu _did_ prepare a hairband.

“Don’t say it”, Shu’s cheeks are painted a beautiful pink. “I must have forgotten it in my pocket.”

It’s a rather pitiful excuse, considering that with Shu’s hair length, he most definitely doesn’t use hairbands, but Wataru lets it pass. Shu was kind enough to offer his help, and Wataru doesn’t intend to ruin the mood too early with excessive teasing.

Wataru sits down, and Shu quickly pulls his hair up. Despite seeming irritated mere seconds ago, Shu’s hands are careful as they roll his hair into a bun. He’s humming under his breath, a soft melody Wataru thinks might be one of Valkyrie’s quieter songs.

“There’s so _much_ of it”, Shu complains half-heartedly. He settles first for a ponytail, and then creates the bun around it instead.

“You just happened to forget multiple hairbands in your pocket?” Wataru asks.

“Yes”, Shu replies, tying what might be the third into Wataru’s hair.

“And hairpins?” Wataru continues after he recognises the next feeling against his head.

“Yes”, Shu says a little too quickly.

Even when burying pins in Wataru’s hair, Shu’s hands are gentle – a stark contrast to how sharp he speaks most of the time.

This is why Wataru cherishes the time they spend alone like this. This way, Shu can’t hide that he cares.

“I’m going to wear it down in the play, you know. Ot maybe a braid. Remember?”

“Rapunzel, yes”, Shu agrees. “We’ll test your clothes on with a braid later. For now, I just need all this hair out of my way.”

And like that, he’s done. Wataru catches a glance of himself from the large mirror near them. The weight of his hair concentrated into one place is always a strange sensation.

“Now, strip down”, Shu claps his hands. He’s wearing a frown, but his eyes linger on Wataru’s hair to admire his handiwork.

“My, my, how straightforward”, Wataru gasps. “Oh, I’m going to blush… are you sure you don’t want to help me out with that?”

“ _Every time_ ”, Shu sighs, averting his eyes as another blush blooms on his face. “If you would just… do it.”

Wataru complies, but doesn’t remove his clothes as fast as he could. Shu clicks his tongue impatiently when Wataru takes too long with the buttons of his shirt.

One day he _has_ to cave in.

Wataru puffs out his chest once he’s shirtless, and Shu rolls his eyes.

“I can _see_ what you’re doing. You need to be relaxed in the fitting.”

Wataru knows, of course. They also go through this every time. But so far Shu hasn’t grown truly annoyed with him (a miracle, really, since most people eventually do), and Wataru loves seeing that subtle smile tug at the corners of Shu’s mouth when he’s still trying to appear stern.

Once Wataru is in just his underwear, Shu holds out the dress, pointedly not looking any further down than Wataru’s face.

The dress is fastened from the back, much like the one Wataru wore in _Cinderella_ , and Shu laces it up for him. Once ready, Shu takes a hold of Wataru’s shoulders and guides him to turn until he faces the mirror.

“Hm”, Shu frowns. “Does it sit right in the shoulders?”

“A little tight”, Wataru nods.

“That’s strange. I’m sure I remembered your measurements right”, Shu sighs.

“Maybe it’s because I’ve been working out”, Wataru grins, far too pleased about causing Shu extra work. “Apparently, the change isn’t visible, though…”

“I haven’t been looking”, Shu says quickly. “So… shoulders? Everything else good?”

Wataru spins around in front of the mirror. The dress is a beautiful thing, in three different shades of blue, and Wataru loves it, already.

“You’re sure about blue?”

“It complements your hair beautifully”, Shu touches the bun he created earlier. “You weren’t very specific with the instructions.”

“I love it”, Wataru laughs, spinning once more for good measure. “Oh, I could kiss you!”

“I’ll think about it”, Shu mumbles. Embarrassment is palpable in his voice.

“That’s more than enough”, Wataru beams. “Perhaps if you’ll attend our premiere?”

“Perhaps… But I’m not making promises.”

“It means the world to me if you’ll just consider it”, Wataru gives Shu a smile so gentle, Shu seems to be at a loss of words.

“You are so embarrassing”, he finally mutters, but the words lack an edge when said with a furious blush.


	4. kaokana; dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! sorry for going missing for a while, it's been a weird June. here's a short soft thing I wrote, hopefully you all like it!!
> 
> set sometime after the zodiac gacha, hence the mentions of it. I had half the idea of this for a long time, and my friend suggested the other half, so I combined them into one, and here you go!

Today, Kaoru doesn't really know why he goes to the club room. The meeting should already be over, so there's no reason to expect anyone to be there.

Well – maybe that's for the best. Maybe all he wants is to be alone today. He has some time before his date with – what was her name again? Sa... something. Kaoru has been less and less interested in his dates lately, to the point where he's considered just dropping them entirely... though he has no idea what he would then do in the evenings.

_Make some friends_ , nags a voice in his head, but he silences it quickly.

Kaoru carefully opens the door. There are more lights on than just the aquariums, and he freezes. Is someone, after all...?

Ah... of course. On the couch, Kanata is breathing steadily, and Kaoru hesitates for just a moment before walking closer.

Kanata doesn't have a blanket on him... he might not have intended to fall asleep. Kaoru wonders if Kanata's reasons for staying are similar to why Kaoru came here, too. The answer is probably yes... Kaoru is well aware of how much Kanata detests spending time at home.

Just like Kaoru.

Kaoru looks at Kanata for a while – he's so peaceful when he's sleeping – and then goes to one of the supply closets to find a blanket. It's blue, decorated with happy little octopuses, crabs, stingrays and other such animals. Kaoru throws it over Kanata and adjusts it a bit to make sure he'll be warm – it's still winter, after all.

The last time one of them had been sleeping in the club room... no, not sleeping, pretending to sleep... Kanata had joked about waking Kaoru up with a kiss, back then. Or had he been serious? Would he really have gone for it if Kaoru hadn't stopped him...?

That's probably just wishful thinking on Kaoru's part. Still – what if –

Kaoru sighs and slumps on his knees in front of the couch. If he was brave, _he_ would wake Kanata up with a kiss. But he isn't – he shouldn't – what if just on the cheek –

After the idea has been planted, Kaoru can't stop thinking about it, and after a short battle with himself, he slowly leans forward and carefully presses his lips against Kanata's cheek.

Kanata doesn't stir, and Kaoru exhales deeply. No need to make any explanations.

He stands up with burning cheeks and leaves the club room in hurried steps.

 

 

 

 

Kaoru is dreaming.

He's had this dream many times in the past, always the same – Kanata draping a blanket over him and then leaning forward, forward, forward –

Kaoru always wakes up before Kanata's mouth is on his, leaving him to yearn for it even more, but this time, the dream continues. Kanata's lips are cold, but he smells like the ocean. The kiss is on his cheek instead of his mouth, and when Kaoru tilts his head to catch Kanata's lips instead, he finds out Kanata tastes like soy sauce.

Kanata closes his eyes, and Kaoru lifts a hand to rest on his cheek, and something about this dream is starting to feel really, really real.

Maybe it's how vividly his senses are working, or how warm he feels, or –

Or the fact that he's not dreaming.

"Kanata-kun", Kaoru parts with a gasp, blinking as he realises he's been awake for a while now.

"Kaoru", Kanata replies in a sweet voice. "Did you 'sleep' well?"

"What – but – you –"

"Slow 'down', please, Kaoru", Kanata shushes, pressing a finger on Kaoru's lips. "One 'question' at a time."

"What happened?" Kaoru manages to choke out.

"You were 'sleeping', so I decided to do the 'same' Kaoru did to me the 'other' day."

"The other day? You mean..."

Kanata sleeping in the club room. Kaoru covering him with a blanket. He wasn't actually asleep? But –

"I kissed your cheek, that time?"

"I was 'surprised' when Kaoru began to kiss my 'mouth' instead", Kanata tilts his head. "Especially with how 'vocally' he says he hates being 'close' to boys."

"I thought I was dreaming?" Kaoru tries to defend himself.

"Does Kaoru 'often' dream about 'kissing' me?" Kanata asks back, and just thinking of the honest answer makes Kaoru's cheeks flare with warmth.

"Would that be bad...?"

"I would be 'happy'. I have wanted to kiss 'Kaoru' for a long time."

"Oh", Kaoru says flatly. "Really?"

"Really", Kanata leans closer and nuzzles his nose against Kaoru's.

Kaoru doesn't reply anymore, and instead, kisses Kanata again, this time fully aware he's not dreaming.


	5. kaoshu; first date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally I planned to make this longer, but I'm already working on two longer kaoshus, so I decided this works well enough on its own. I just really want there to be more kaoshu... please...

While sewing, Shu loses the track of time – not that unusual, but he also forgets something more important, and only remembers when he looks out the window and realises the sky has begun to shift into an orange gradient.

”Hakaze”, he mutters, scrambling up from his seat – where is his phone? Why didn’t Kaoru call him?

A closer inspection of the cursed device reveals the battery has drained empty, so even if Kaoru _did_ call him –

Oh, he’s made a mistake. Several, in fact, because he specifically forbade Kaoru from coming to the handicrafts club room, and promised, that after _a little bit_ of work, he’d come to the marine bio club instead to fetch Kaoru. He even gave his number, except it wasn’t of any use, because he rarely uses his phone and usually forgets to charge it.

Shu hastily puts away his work, turns off the sewing machine, cleans the room in a frenzy – but then pauses, thinks it through, and his heart sinks.

Would Kaoru have waited for him for what seems to be hours? Unlikely. And if he didn’t manage to contact Shu through the phone… Still, he did as Shu asked, and didn’t come look for him here, and something inside Shu aches terribly at the thought of Kaoru waiting, in vain, until finally giving up in the thought that he’s been stood up.

He should have allowed Kaoru to wait at the handicrafts club room, Shu thinks, as he flings his bag over his shoulder and sets for the door. He didn’t want that because having Kaoru there – watching him work – would most likely have been extremely distracting, and Shu doesn’t like distractions when he’s sewing. And still, by making sure he could work in peace, he’s hurt Kaoru, and –

”Calm down”, Shu mutters, grabbing Mademoiselle before exiting the room. ”Check the club, just in case. Explain to him tomorrow.”

Kaoru probably won’t want to have another try at a date, but at least Shu can tell him it wasn’t because of him. After months of waiting, watching, awkward attempts at courting – from both sides, Shu likes to believe – after Rei pushing Shu to act, having seen through both of them from the start – and Shu blows it before their first date even begins.

Absolutely great.

Shu’s hands tremble when he opens the door to Kanata’s club room. The glow of the fish tanks is mildly comforting, though it’s impossible for him to completely calm down, his heart thrumming inside him like something caged while he walks in further.

There seems to be no one in. Of course, but it still hurts – not because he expected Kaoru to wait, but because now he knows for certain he’s messed up. Still, he goes in further, slips between the tanks, glances at the creatures inside them. Perhaps he should come here sometimes to spend time with Kanata. Kaoru apparently skips a lot of meetings, which suits Shu just fine, not having to face him more than necessary after messing up like this.

There’s a couch at the back of the room, and Shu strides towards it. He turns around the tank, and there it is, just like he remembered –

And there’s Kaoru, all curled up, fast asleep on the couch, and then Shu is _definitely_ dizzy.

He kneels by the couch, not daring to breathe in fear of waking Kaoru up. He’s here? He waited? All kinds of frantic thoughts run through Shu’s mind, and he raises a shaking hand to trace Kaoru’s cheek with, just to make sure he’s _real_.

Kaoru’s eyes flutter open, and he blinks at Shu.

”Itsuki-kun? What’s –” he seems to realise he fell asleep, because next, he jumps up to sit, eyes wide and alarmed. ”Did I – did I miss our date? I’m s –”

”Shh, shh, you didn’t”, Shu calms him, lays a hand over his. Touch isn’t something he does lightly, but this time, it’s worth it, since the action has the desired effect and Kaoru relaxes, if only a little. ”I did.”

”But I – I was asleep?” Kaoru asks, and Shu shakes his head.

”No, it’s my fault, I took too long. I’m sorry. After I realised it, I didn’t think you’d – I didn’t expect you to wait for me.”

”Of course I waited”, Kaoru shifts a hand under Shu’s to grab Shu’s hand, and this time, it’s Shu whose eyes widen. ”I wouldn’t miss a date. I mean – I really wouldn’t, but I wouldn’t miss a date with _you_.”

Kaoru casts his eyes down, suddenly flushed, and Shu thought he adored Kaoru before, but these words, said with sincerity – and Kaoru calling it a _date_ as well, for the first time since Shu asked him out –

”Thank you”, Shu says, his throat dry, and he means it. ”But it’s getting late, now… the place I wanted to take you to…”

”We’ll go some other time”, Kaoru promises, his smile just as warm as his skin against Shu’s. ”I think we might both be happier if our first date wasn’t in public, anyway.”

”Whatever do you mean by that?”

”Come on”, Kaoru tugs at Shu’s hand, and Shu stumbles up from the floor, then falls on the couch next to Kaoru. ”I suppose I was always too concerned with appearances, when it came to dates. This is just as good, if not better.”

”What? Here? Now?” Shu blinks, and Kaoru laughs, his expression fond as he looks upon Shu.

”Yeah, here. It’ll be like an aquarium date, you know? Except I know the fish personally. What do you say?”

Kaoru makes it so simple, and Shu doesn’t know if he deserves this, but he swears, from now on he’s going to do his best to make Kaoru feel worthy.

”That sounds perfect”, Shu whispers, aligning their hands so that they’re holding them instead. ”Why don’t you tell me about them? I can’t think of a better way to spend the evening than listening to your voice.”

”O-okay”, Kaoru swallows, and Shu _can_ think of a better way – kissing every part of Kaoru’s flushed face – but maybe some other day.

This is more than enough for now.


End file.
